the ask@AAR: What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
Happy Juneteenth!
OK, peeps. We’re halfway through 2020–a year I’ll be thrilled to see the back of–and I want to know: What’s the best book you’ve read this year? And why?
Go!
Impenitent social media enthusiast. Relational trend spotter. Enjoys both carpe diem and the fish of the day.
Late, per usual, but here is my list of favorites read (not published) in 2020:
o Love Lettering by Kate Claiborne: A little bit too much detail about fonts, although it’s always nice when we get proof that the hero or heroine, who is described as good at what they do, actually is good at what they do. I adored Reid. He is a quant, a numbers person, to Meg’s artistry and letters. He is so intense and focused, so protective and honest. When he reveals how alone he feels other than with his family, your heart breaks for the little boy pushed ahead in school but left without friends because he is so much younger (and smarter) than his classmates. And there is more that the reader (and Kate) only discover near the end of the book, something that makes Reid even more of a hero. Be still my beating heart.
o Meet Me at the Museum by Ann Youngson: An epistolary novel. In Denmark, Professor Anders Larsen, an urbane man of facts, has lost his wife and his hopes for the future. On an isolated English farm, Tina Hopgood is trapped in a life she doesn’t remember choosing. You see how they come to know themselves as well as each other through their correspondence. Not a romance because the HEA is not spelled out, but there is definitely hope for one.
o Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck: The novel tells the story of Richard, a widower and retired classics professor who lives in Berlin. He lives a routine existence until one day he spies some African refugees staging a hunger strike in Alexanderplatz. Curiosity turns in to compassion and an inner transformation as he visits their shelter, interviews them, and becomes embroiled in their harrowing fates. The book is an indictment of Western policy toward the European refugee crisis and also a touching portrait of a man who finds he has more in common with the Africans than he realizes. I liked how at first Richard gives the men nicknames because he can’t quite keep their names straight, but as he comes to know them he calls them by their true names.
o Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E Stevenson: Saw this mentioned somewhere online (here?). It was written in 1936 so could have been simply dated, but instead I found it charming. It’s about Barbara Buncle, a spinster in an English village who is in a financial bind (it is the Depression, after all). She says she has no imagination so writes a book based on the people she knows in her village. Luckily, it becomes a best seller, and even luckier for her, she published it under a pseudonym because the people in her village are not necessarily happy to see themselves, and their foibles, in print. Most definitely light reading, with HEA for all those who deserve it, including Miss Buncle.
o Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh: A reread of the next-to-last in her Survivors series, and probably my favorite of the series.
I adored Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering and I agree that Reid is a special hero. I did enjoy the topic of calligraphy in a very geeky way because I collect fountain pens and love playing around with font styles. I think too that Clayborn did a lovely job portraying both character’s careers. As a former Manhattanite, I loved a novel set in NYC and thought Clayborn did justice to the city itself and urban living today. Since the pandemic, I’ve thought back on this book a lot as it really resonates with me as a novel that celebrates city living – the good and the bad. Clayborn has rapidly become one of my favorite romance authors.
I feel like I’m late to the party but here’s my list! For books published this year, some of my favorites are:
Historical romance:
Chasing Cassandra – Lisa Kleypas (I know it didn’t get the greatest reviews but I keep going back and re-reading parts and just love it)
NA romance:
The Third Best Thing – Maya Hughes (I guess would be classified as a football sports romance but the sport doesn’t play a big role in the story and it is a really sweet, sexy story)
Contemporary romance:
One Moment Please – Amy Daws (hero is a grumpy ER doctor!)
One Night with the Sexiest Man Alive – Ainslee Paton (hero is a Hollywood actor)
Pregnant by the Playboy – Jackie Lau (I love her Canadian settings)
YA:
A Heart So Fierce and Broken – Brigid Kemmerer (sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lonely, which was equally good YA fantasy)
Mystery/Thriller:
Alone in the Wild – Kelley Armstrong (latest in the Casey Duncan series taking place in Rockton, Alaska)
Then there are contemporaries I read this year that were published last year or before:
Faking Ms. Right – Claire Kingsley (I love the aloof hero falls in love storyline)
Dirty Secret – Mira Lyn Kelly (hockey romance)
Loveless brothers series – Roxie Noir (funny and steamy with great sibling interactions)
The One I Love to Hate – Amanda Weaver (the first in a trilogy about 3 sisters, all good but I liked this first one the best)
My absolute favorite book that I read this year so far was not published this year and I discovered the author due to recommendations on this site. The book is Rule Breaker by Lily Morton. I don’t remember how it came about but I read a review of her book Oz here. I read that and then the rest of the Finding Home trilogy then the Mixed Messages trilogy. I have bought the rest of her catalog and am doling them out to myself gradually so I don’t go through them too fast. Her books are SO GOOD! Thanks to everyone here who recommended them!
I loved the Rule Breaker trilogy. Finding Home was a bit too sweet for my taste, though lovely. Summer of Us is also excellent. :-)
I love the Casey Duncan series as well. I got hooked on it not long before this newest book was published. I enjoyed this one a lot but I was hoping for more stories that include her sister acclimating to life there and more on his brother.
I have more or less been in four months and have been rereading Mary Balogh’s entire Survivor series one after the other! The good news is I hardly remember them the first time around. Age has its blessings. As for new I really enjoyed Madeline Hunter’s Heiress For Hire.
I’ve been enjoying a lot of contemporaries during the quarantine, even though I’m much more of an HR reader. I really enjoyed WORST BEST MAN by Mia Sosa (I actually reread that one immediately after finishing it!). I also enjoyed THE HONEY DON’T LIST by Christina Lauren – they always write compelling stories that I enjoy. I also highly recommend THE HAPPY EVER AFTER PLAYLIST by Abby Jimenez (but THE FRIEND ZONE should definitely be read first). As for HR, while this isn’t a new release, I just finished and loved THE WIDOW OF ROSE HOUSE by Diana Biller (I know – I’m late to the party on that one!!). I’m currently reading WHERE THE LOST WANDER by Amy Harmon, which isn’t an easy read especially during quarantine, but It’s so well written.
Oh, and I forgot BEACH READ by Emily Henry, which is especially good in audio with Julia Whelan narrating!
The Widow of Rose House was one of my favorites of 2019. I follow Diana Biller on Twitter and she just posted that she has a second book coming out.
Excellent!! I wonder if it’s a follow up book? I’d love to read Henry’s story.
Henry is one of my favorite secondary characters in recent books I’ve read and so I’m with you there!
I don’t read much non-fiction but four people in my family read and gushed about Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. I read it last week and it would call it the best book I’ve read this year.
I don’t tend to be able to read recent releases immediately so often my lists are of books that have been out for some time. When possible, I do read recent releases on auto buy authors but these are becoming less and less and when they do publish something, I read mostly for loyalty and they might not turn out to be 5 stars reads.
Checking GR, I only gave 5 stars to three books, so far, this year.
Is it that I’m becoming too picky or the books in general just don’t seem to be as perfect-looking as in the past….something to think about.
The Last Kiss by Sally Malcolm. I wish I could find more books written like this.
My favourite romance reads this year are – C.S. Harris’s Who Speaks for the Dammed (it may not qualify as a romance) from 2020 and Alyssa Cole’s An Extraordinary Union, read this year but published in 2017.
So far it is a toss up between two Kristin Hannah books- “The Nightingale” and “The Great Alone”. Both are about areas that I am not that familiar- France and the resistance during WWII and Alaska. The characters are strong and complex, especially the women. I am leaning toward “The Nightingale” because I am a fan of historical fiction but each book touched me (and made me cry) for a variety of reasons. There is domestic violence in each so beware but the storytelling is wonderful and detailed.
A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane is my favourite so far, Headliners by Lucy Parker and The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon are not far behind
I really need to read The Boyfriend Project asap.
I have read, and absolutely loved, Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series. Charlotte and Lord Ingram has the slowest of slow burn romance and it’s delicious.
If anyone has an ARC of Murder on Cold Street that I could borrow to read I’d love them forever! And I’d make a donation to their favourite charity.
Other favourites have included mysteries such as the Truly Devious YA series, Sharon Bolton’s The Split, Eight Detectives (not out just yet) and Girl A (also not out yet but just fantastic).
Finally Beth I am very envious that you are getting to read so many wonderful HR. Sherry Thomas and Julie Anne Long are my favourites along with Tessa Dare and Julia Quinn. Enjoy!
Sorry, can’t share – but I’ll be reviewing Murder on Cold Street here :)
Ah it was worth a try! Look forward to reading your review
Their burn, especially in book three, was a little too slow for me. Sherry said she felt the same way so I’m hoping book four gives us more of them as lovers!
Yes it needs to speed up a bit as I think they will be great together in a committed relationship and I will look forward to reading about their continuing adventures. Will be interesting to see how she can be married yet independent :)
I’ll be interested to see if they get married. There seems to be a new trend in HR where the protagonists don’t.
God, either Pregnant by the Playboy or American Sweethearts. Or These Violent Delights!
Whose Violent Delights? There are quite a few on amazon… thank you!
i know which other two book you mean.
I’ve read some really great books this year.
Of books newly published, my absolute favourite is Blue on Blue by Dal Maclean.
Runners up are Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles and Wayward by Gregory Ashe.
My favourites of older books, that are new to me this year, are Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid and Glitterland by Alexis Hall. I’m very jealous of the people who have already read his new book!
If it helps, I wish I could read Boyfriend Material again for the first time – I genuinely envy you that experience! Also, it’s not too long a wait now, at least.
Glitterland is one of my favorites of his.
KJ Charles’ Charm of Magpies trilogy.
Unfortunately quite a few of my past favorites have stopped writing or moved on the other genres (Sherry Thomas…); I’m very jealous of Beth who still has so many good authors and backlists to explore.
I loved K.J. Charles’s “Slippery Creatures”, but Alexis Hall’s “Boyfriend Material” is the best romance I’ve read so far. I cannot wait for it to be released so I can recommend it to people and gift it to all my friends.
I haven’t had that much look finding romances I really loved, but in non-romance fiction I cannot recommend “The City We Became” by N.K. Jemisin highly enough, it’s such a fantastic book. Urban fantasy set in New York – the premise is that at a certain point, cities’ souls manifest in people, but not every entity is happy with that. It addresses so many of the issues we’re currently all grappling with – racism, police brutality and gentrification, for example, but it does so in this really accessible way. And it has such a wonderfully diverse cast. I loved this one so much, and it does have romance in it!
And Hilary Mantel’s conclusion to her Thomas Cromwell trilogy was terrific, too.
(And as a last addendum, while it may sound pretentious and it certainly wasn’t published this year, I am currently reading Proust’s “In search of lost time” and I’m blown away by how good this is.)
I forgot that Mantel finished her trilogy. Thank you for posting that info. I’ve been so absorbed in her beautiful writing over the years that she began the series and will definitely read the conclusion.
The Jemisin sounds really good and thought-provoking and perfect reading for moments like these. Ha, yes, Proust is heavy going but so worth it. You have some great books listed here!
I was really nervous when I started “The Mirror and the Light” because the first two books were so good. But it doesn’t just hold up, it completes it perfectly. These books are definitely among the top ten things I have read in my life, because they are so many things at once. I read it during quarantine, and her prose gave me something to cling to.
Reading Proust is an unexpected delight – I’ve made an effort to read more classics for a while now, and loved and liked a lot of them, but there is something about the way he writes that makes something click in my brain. It’s incredibly satisfying.
And last night, I even found a new romance that’s looking like it could be good, so I’m a happy reader now :)
I loved Boyfriend Material – watch this space for my review. I admit, I didn’t think about including books that aren’t out yet, or that would have been on my list, too!
The best book that has come out this year I think is Julianna Keyes’ “Bench Player” about ex-con and returning MLB player Connor Whitman who–quite accidentally–gets into a hot relationship with his team’s PR director, no-nonsense Allison Whyte. The relationship develops slowly and nicely as both heal and grow. I fell in love with both grouchy characters, who weren’t so grouchy by the end. The other books that I have enjoyed this year were ones that came out in previous years, and of course. “Bench Player” sent me back to my favorite Julianna Keyes books: “Going The Distance,” “In Her Defense” and “Team Player.”
I have to say, Beth, your list is EXCELLENT so far–all my favorite historical romance writers. I would add to your list author Cecilia Grant. You’ve got some delightful reading ahead!
I did read A Lady Awakened and loved it…have her other 2 on my TBR…she is in my top 20!
Ooh! I loved A Lady Awakened too. But I read it last year, so I couldn’t put it on my list for this AAR. :)
Bench Player is on my list of my five favorite romances I’ve read this year. I loved it.
I don’t want to give my whole end of year list away! But this one’s on mine, too.
Beth: Liz Carlyle has a massive back catalog – I read her close to my early days of reading romance. I think you will enjoy her books.
thank you!!
Looking at my Goodreads, here are my 5-stars:
House Rules, Ruby Lang
Sun Down Motel, Simone St. James
A Duke By Any Other Name, Grace Burrowes
Headliners, Lucy Parker
Girl Gone Viral, Alisha Rai
The Boyfriend Project, Farrah Rochon
Rereads that were still 5-Stars:
Sylvester, Georgette Heyer
Love’s Reward, Jean Ross Ewing
Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
Also, I want to cry foul on those of you naming books that aren’t technically out yet. No fair! :D
It never actually occurred to me to choose one that wasn’t out yet! I’ve read some others that will or are likely to make my Best of list this year, but didn’t include them becuse they’ve yet to be published.
I loved Headliners and Sun Down Motel! I actually forgot that Headliners came out this year.
House Rules and The Boyfriend Project are on my list to read this year and so it’s great to hear they made your favorites list.
I have four 4-star new reads so far this year:
Crazy for Loving You (r) Grant, Pippa c 2019
Badger to the Bone (r) Laurenston, Shelly pc 2020
Headliners (r) Parker, Lucy c 2020
First Comes Scandal (r) Quinn, Julia h:G 2020
The Quinn really was great, wasn’t it?
Rereading Patricia Veryan’s “Golden Chronicles”.
I first read them in the 1980’s, and the time is now to go back and relive those adventures and wonderful characters. My first reread since then …
I recently read The Golden Chronicles, too. A lot of people like The Dedicated Villain best, but my favorite ended up being Love Alters Not. Overall, had a good time reading all of them.
My favorite book so far this year is an “older” classic I have owned for years but never read- Jennifer Crusie’s “Bet Me”. What a wonderful read! It’s everything it was cracked up to be. Funny, smart, emotional, with great characters and a fantastic pace. It’s one of the few books I have read that made me laugh out loud. And what a great time to enjoy such a treasure! I think we have all needed a few laughs over the past months.
Another new to me discovery in the past few months was Kresley Cole and her Immortals series. I blew through those like eating popcorn. They’re angsty and over the top yet often funny. There was a huge backlist readily available so it fed my need for escapism reading.
“… so it fed my need for escapism reading.” I think we could all use some escapist reading right now. :)
I started a one of the books from the Kresley Cole series during quarantine after recommendations here in a guilty pleasures blog post, I think. It was a DNF for me, but more because I don’t love much fantasy romance generally. The unironic alpha-ness of the hero was just too much. Fast forward to this month, when I read the new Sarah Maas, A House of Earth and Blood. I was amused by the way she had her heroine make fun of the hero and several other male characters’ alphahole tendencies, I assume referencing the K Cole and others oeuvre? Like now if their dominance is pointed out to them ironically, we can all laugh about it. I’d be curious if more avid readers of fantasy romance see this pattern?
Do you have a favorite of the K. Cole’s should I try again?
Sorry—but I just can’t narrow it down beyond the seven I have so far on my “Best of 2020” list. (I know I’m cheating with one that was published in 2018, but all the others were published this year.) And since “angsty with a splash of melancholy” describes my ideal romance novel, you will not be surprised that the books on my list meet that criteria to a T:
CREDENCE by Penelope Douglas. “New-Adult/reverse-harem/enforced-proximity in an isolated house in the mountains,” while technically accurate, in no way captures the delicately painstaking way Douglas unfolds this deliciously-fraught story of a suddenly-orphaned 17-year-old girl who goes to live with her step-uncle and his two adult sons—and what happens between them over the course of a snowbound winter in the Rocky Mountains.
FINDING HIM by Rachel Van Dyken. Two people, both struggling with loss, work through the grieving process and gradually fall in love as they write a book together about the heroine’s late fiancé. A lovely, melancholy book.
WITHOUT YOU by Marley Valentine. Unique twist on the “man falling for his late brother’s widow” trope—the late brother was gay, so this is a case of a man (who has always identified as straight) falling for his late brother’s widower. A nuanced, bittersweet slow burn with amazing levels of sexual tension.
LOSING IT ALL by Kati Wilde. The four-year wait for the next installment of Wilde’s Hellfire Riders MC series was totally worth it. All of Kati’s hallmarks are here: a thoughtful & intelligent heroine, an alpha hero whose kind-heart and self-awareness keep him securely outside alpha-hole territory, a propulsive plot that puts both h&h through the wringer—emotionally and physically, smoking-hot sexy-times, angsty misunderstandings, a joyful HEA, and a nice catch-up-with-everyone epilogue. Plus, I’m mentioned on the book’s dedication page. ‘Nuff said.
THE BEST MAN by Winter Renshaw. Beautifully-written exploration of the roles chance and coincidence play in our lives. Two decent, honorable people, linked by a terrible automobile accident, try to avoid falling in love and hurting the one person who connects them both: his best friend and her former fiancé. Deeply emotional with just the faintest trace the otherworldly.
THE ITALIAN’S PREGNANT CINDERELLA by Caitlin Crews. A standard Harlequin Presents plot (super-efficient executive heroine falls in love, then bed, with her boss, leading to unplanned pregnancy and unanticipated heartache before the joyous HEA) elevated by Crews’s excellent writing and insistent subtext about how men marginalize and ostracize women they can’t control. A good corrective for the notion that HPs are nothing but retrogressive melodramas that reinforce dated gender roles and stereotypes.
DANE’S STORM by Mia Sheridan (published in 2018): After their plane crashes in the Rockies, a long-divorced couple must work together to survive and to come to terms with the grief that tore their relationship apart years before (cw/tw: stillborn baby). Nail-biting survival scenes and one of the saddest, yet ultimately life-affirming, second-chance romances I’ve ever read. You will cry…several times.
I haven’t been blown away by my reading yet this year, but I really enjoyed A Marriage Deal with the Outlaw by Harper St. George, a Harlequin Historical Western.
My relationship with Westerns is sort of on and off, but I liked the premise of this one. Caroline Hartford wants to be a physician but her parents won’t allow her to go to medical school unless she marries first on the grounds that being too educated might scare off potential suitors in the future. But on her way to a family gathering in Montana, she nearly gets kidnapped on the train and is rescued by some other outlaw. It turns out this outlaw, Castillo Jameson (also known as Castillo Reyes), is distantly connected to her family. So Caroline turns this to her advantage by making him pose as her fiancé under threats of blackmail.
As iffy as the setup sounds, it actually works really well for ninety percent of the book. And the sex scenes are on the hot end of the warm spectrum. (I think it helps that the guy is half-Spanish and the would-be physician heroine is no prude.) I won’t get into spoilers accept to say that, like many Harlequins, the last ten percent feels really rushed and contrived (as though the premise isn’t… :)).
Anyway, Harper St. George is a talented romance author whom I would definitely read again.
Sounds good! I’ll check it out! I enjoy westerns as well, but I am also picky.
I really enjoy Ellen O’Connell’s books which I never would have found without AAR and the readers here. Beautiful Bad Man is one of my favorites.
Glad you liked the rec! Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t think it’s reviewed on AAR. Found the book totally by accident through my library’s e-book program. They don’t have a huge number of Harlequins but enough to keep me busy. Apparently A Marriage Deal with the Outlaw is the second or third in a series, but it worked fine as a standalone.
Never heard of Ellen O’Connell, so thank you for the rec. :) Currently reading Hearts on Hold, which is a pretty good contemporary that I believe *was* reviewed here at AAR.
Hearts on Hold is a very sweet romance and I enjoyed it. (My only quibble is that the uptight Professor agrees to hook up on campus when she is obsessed with tenure and being ultra professional about her job because of her prejudiced and jerky department head).
I very rarely read Westerns but I really enjoy Ellen O’Connell so I second the recommendation although I would vote for “Without Words” as her strongest book.
Two books for me. I tend to mix romance with history, usually social history. For fiction, I loved My Perfect Ex-Boyfriend by Annabelle Costa which made me laugh out loud and that doesn’t happen very often. She’s new to me and I have put several more of her books on my Kindle. Non-fiction would be The Regency Revolution: Jane Austen, Napoleon, Lord Byron and the Making of the Modern World by Robert Morrison. Always good to read something that correlates to my romance reading which is often in the Regency subgenre. A great read and I recommend it. I’m waiting for Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: How Younger Sons Made Their Way in Jane Austen’s England by Rory Muir to come out in paperback as that one looks very good indeed.
Thanks for the Annabelle Costa recommendation. I just started reading MY PERFECT EX-BOYFRIEND and it’s terrific!
The best books I’ve read thus far this year are:
Overall winner: Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Best romance that’s already been published: Heiress for Hire by Madeline Hunter or The Winter King by C. L. Wilson
Best romance that will be published later this year: A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore.
The best book I most recently read – and definitely on my shortlist for Best of 2020 – is Fair as a Star, by Mimi Matthews. One of those books that just make you sigh with pleasure. Gentle, poignant, low steam. It was a surprise. (RTC)
I already have a few Ashe books on this list, too, also Blue on Blue, and I have inhaled/massively enjoyed the 2 books and novella in Milla Vane’s A Gathering of Dragons series. So good.
The Roommate, a debut by Rosie Danan is also lots of fun. (RTC)
I’m really looking forrward to The Roommate and have heard lots of good things about it.
My favorite of the year thus far is Sarah Hogle’s _You Deserve Each Other_. Just a lovely debut novel about the twists and turns a relationship can take, even when two people are madly in love. The book transitions so cleverly from achingly romantic, to cold war, to a poignant second chance clawing of their way back to each other, and then to true partnership. Hogle has a snarky and sharp narrative voice that really appealed to me but may not be for everyone. I can honestly say this is a book that made me laugh out loud and sniffle my way through more than a few scenes, and it’s a book that has grown on me over time, which is always a nice thing. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.
Runners up include Mhairi McFarlane’s wonderful _If I Never Met You_ and Simone St. James’s creepy and brilliant _Sun Down Motel_.
Still haven’t read the Hogle – I tried to start it and sensed I wasn’t in the right head space so I put it off. I need to come back to it. I also loved the McFarlane.
I loved You Deserve Each Other and am not sure why I didn’t 5-star it. I have the McFarlane on the Kindle ready to read. I’ve been writing and really shouldn’t be reading romances, but I got sucked into 40-Love by Olivia Dade last night.
I think I’ll check out “If I never met you” – I read a Mhairi McFarlane book a couple of years ago that I really enjoyed (I think it was called “Here’s looking at you”?) and this sounds like I might like it :)
McFarlane is definitely an author I’m going to go into her backlist and read all of it. I don’t where I’ve been that I’ve overlooked reading her.
Wished I liked the Hoggle as much as you did!
I have friends who did not like it much and others who adored it, like myself. It seems to be one of those books that either hits you the right way or not.
“Loved “If I Never Met You” and Simone St. James’s “Sun Down Motel”. I would add “I Was Told It Would Get Easier” by Abbi Waxman, “The Boyfriend Project” by Farrah Rochon and “Party of Two” by Jasmine Guilroy
I see that Party of Two isn’t out just yet but I will definitely be looking for reviews of it. It sounds fun!
ok, I am really sorry but I can’t pick just one! I am a brand new romance reader (since last fall) and I have been devouring about 5-7 books a week…soo the best I have read since January:
Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
The Spymasters Lady by Joanna Bourne
His At Night by Sherry Thomas
As You Desire by Connie Brockway
Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory
Honorable Mention:
Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell, Reckless by Anne Stuart, The Proposition by Judith Ivory, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase and Not Quite A Husband by Sherry Thomas
Wow, so many great books here. I loved Anne Mallory and was sad when she stopped writing. I really liked Seven Secrets of Seduction but the follow-up, One Night Is Never Enough was one of my favorite books for a long time.
Yes, I loved ONINE too!!
Mine too! Mallory is planning on coming back to HR.
Where did you read that? That would be great!
I emailed her awhile ago and she said that it will be few years but she plans to return.
Seven Secrets of Seduction is on sale on Amazon today! Just bought it from AARs Steals and Deals page!
Wow Beth! Great picks & you still have so many wonderful books to discover and love! Are you reading an authors full catalog after you discover a favorite or cherry picking? When I started reading romance I was dedicated to reading series in order & I would never read a 3rd book if I hadn’t read the first 2. I’m not as picky now – but I see quite a few authors with linked books on this list.
I also love Anne Mallory. She writes fantasy YA now under a pen name. I even think I have one of her books!
After I found AAR, I started by looking at ALL the best of lists,back to 1998, made lists of your DIK and looked at the old readers favorite lists…y’all have lots of awesome stuff in your archives!! I have devoured alll of Sherry Thomas’ historical backlist,but I am slowly picking my way through everyone else’s, like Judith Ivory, I am only 1/3 of the way through her backlist, but I saved my pennies and actually bought a copy of Bliss and can’t wait for it to get here!
and I have only read 1-3 titles from each author at this point…there is soooo much to read! and authors I haven’t even gotten to yet, like Jo Beverley, Julie Anne Long, Courtney Milan, Elizabeth Hoyt, haven’t even touched them yet!
But really favorite authors like Judith Ivory and Joanna Bourne and Meredith Duran, I now try to ration only 1 title a week so I don’t blow through them so fast, I was so sad when I finished all the Sherry Thomas titles.
Amazing list! So many wonderful authors and books. You are very smart to ration out the great authors with fewer published novels. Not only does it stretch them out it keeps you from getting overload where you start noticing any repetitions etc.
Joanna Bourne is one of my absolute favorites as well but new books from her are as rare as they are wonderful. Definitely savor them!
Yep, those are my favorite authors too, especially Judith Ivory. Nearly everything she wrote is wonderful. I loved Bliss so much, but Untie My Heart is my favorite and still one of my top ten favorite romances.
That’s good to hear about Anne Mallory. I always wondered what happened.
Such great choices.
I too loved Anne Mallory–One Night is Never Enough is, I think, the first DIK review I ever wrote for AAR. His At Night is my favorite Sherry Thomas and Duke of Shadows is my favorite Duran. Reckless is on my top ten favorite romances of all time and is my favorite by Stuart.
You and I and @chrisreader clearly have very similar tastes!
Dabney, you definitely turned me on to Anne Stuart!! you raved about Reckless somewhere and I just had to read it! (that opening line!!) I just received copies of Ruthless and To Love A Dark Lord in the mail from the used bookseller this week!
I think you should start collecting the Pennyroyal Green books–I suspect you’ll love them.
are they best read strictly in order or can I skip around?
Like Sherry Thomas’ Fitzhugh’s I think would lose so much if not read in order but the London trilogy didn’t seem dependent on each other.
I wouldn’t skip around but there are a few you could skip. If you want to read through and have the overarching storyline make sense, I’d read them in this order:
The Perils of Pleasure
Like No Other Lover
I Kissed An Earl
What I Did for a Duke
The Legend of Lyon Redmond
After you’ve read those, you can you back and read the other ones for fun.
Thank you so much!!
They remain, in my view, one of romance’s most rewarding series.
I didn’t read them in order, but I would strongly recommend reading ‘What I Did for a Duke’, it was my favourite! I also read it first, and I think it serves as a good stand-alone novel.
I don’t know why my comment keeps disappearing. I don’t think you would lose out if you don’t adhere too closely to the order. I would strongly recommend ‘What I Did for a Duke’. I read this book first, and it reads very much as a stand-alone novel. However, The Legend of Lyon Redmond requires prior reading of the other novels in the series.
As for which of these I like the best, I’d rank them thusly:
What I Did for a Duke
I Kissed An Earl
Like No Other Lover
The Legend of Lyon Redmond
The Perils of Pleasure
Not as necessary to the understanding of the two families’ story, but also much loved by me would be:
How the Marquess Was Won
A Notorious Countess Confesses
Hi Beth, I did not read them in order, and my absolute favourite was ‘What I Did For A Duke’. It was also (coincidentally!) the first one I read, I would strongly recommend reading it. One of my all-time favourite historical romances.
thank you!
What I Did for a Duke is my favorite too and still one of my favorite romances. I don’t think the Pennyroyal Green books desperately need to be read in order because each story is unique to its own couple. Alex from What I Did for a Duke is one of my all-time favorite heroes.
I guess I think if you’re tracking Olivia and Lyon’s story, reading the books in vague order matters. But all the books are functional stand alones.
I’m so sorry – my post keeps disappearing and reappearing, so I have probably triple posted! Completely agree with you Blackjack, Alex is definitely my all-time favourite heroes too!
I reread the series recently and was surprised by how little we learn in each one about Olivia and Lyon’s story except that they are tragically separated. I think their story stands on its own, though it’s not my favorite in the series.
I think the other novels created greater anticipation for Olivia and Lyon’s story. You are right though, the author doesn’t reveal anything about their relationship in the earlier books. I was actually quite disappointed by their story, I felt the pay-off wasn’t as great as the build up.
For me, the bigger joy in The Legend of Lyon Redmond was understanding the truth behind the Redmonds and the Everseas. I still find the overarching story of the two families to be wonderful. I even like the sequel set far in the future.
Completely agree with you about the family saga – it is one of the aspects of the series that renders it so different from other historical romance books. I love the notion of two rival families and star-crossed lovers. That’s such a lovely way of thinking of the Legend of Lyon Redmond, Dabney. Perhaps I should re-read it. I haven’t read the sequel, as I am not a huge fan of contemporary romances.
I always think of J.K. Rowling seeing the end of her Harry Potter story at the beginning. There’s a great joy, for me, in brilliant plotting over novels/seasons. It’s one reason Justified is one of my top three favorite TV shows of all time.
Same for me. It was one of my least favorite of the series.
I don’t think they need to be read strictly in order. I would strongly recommend reading ‘What I Did for a Duke’. I read that book first, and it reads very much like a stand-alone novel. However, with the Legend of Lyon Redmond, you definitely need to read the other novels in the series to understand the main characters.
You are having a ball! All very good books!
when you come so late to the party, you are beneficiary of everyone else’s experience! I rarely pickup something that has been recommended highly that I don’t get at least some enjoyment!
I keep track of them so I’m ready for our Best of lists at the end of the year, and I’ve already got a few contenders. If I have to pick just one at this stage, it’d probably be Transactional Dynamics by Gregory Ashe, That said, he’s got several more books coming out this year – including the fifth and final book in the current Hazard and Somerset series, so that one may well get knocked off the top spot!
Runners up – Blue on Blue by Dal Maclean and Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles.